Key Ingredients, 2014

In 2014 we took Key Ingredients on the road to showcase some of our Bay Area-based filmmakers. We paired four TFI-supported filmmakers with three chefs and one barista for an evening of food and drink inspired by their independent films.

Appetizer

Immigrant Nation uses personal narratives to give users multiple entry points into the divisive issue of immigration in the U.S. This project provides an unbiased platform for users to create, share, and explore personal immigration stories.

Kate McLean is a writer, reporter, and producer living and working in San Francisco. Her film POT COUNTRY premiered at the Mill Valley International Film Festival in 2011 and won Best Documentary at the USA Short Film Festival.

Esteban started his career in San Francisco with Mitchell Rosenthal at Wolfgang Puck’s award winning, Postrio. After a cooking stint in Austin, he returned to the Bay Area to head The Corner’s soulful American menu before joining Town Hall.

Entrée

BATKID BEGINS tells the story of the events leading up to the day 5-year-old Miles Scott’s wish to become Batkid came true and he saved San Francisco by battling crim, while in his own battle with leukemia. For the entrée course, Joey Yng prepares a dish inspired by childhood, innocence and the taste of San Francisco – Batkid Fish & Chips.

Dana Nachman is an Emmy award-winning director whose films have premiered at Toronto (2008) and Tribeca (2011) and received national television broadcasts. A former journalist, she has lectured at Stanford University and TEDxYouth.

Starting her culinary career at the Ritz Carlton in Hawaii, Joey made her way to the Bay Area working at restaurants such as Boulevard and Bistro Vista before becoming executive chef for Jillian’s, preparing meals for private events. Leaving the catering world behind, Joey began working as General Manager of Ferry Plaza Seafood where she is now also the Executive Chef in their new location in North Beach.

DESSERT

Mellisa Root’s dessert creation was inspired by Ondi Timoner’s project, THE LAST MILE, which tells the story of an incubator at San Quinton prison that teaches inmates the skills they need to become successful entrepreneurs upon release. Chef Root taglines her dish, “in our darkest moments; we must focus to see the light.” It incorporates multiple original concoctions to form Bailey's Cremeux, Coffee Mousse, Praline Feuilletine, Black Apricot. Below is the 7 part recipe for you to create and bring this incredible dish together.

Ondi Timoner has the rare distinction of winning the Sundance Grand Jury Prize twice, DIG! (2004) and We Live In Public (2009), both acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York for their permanent collection.

Root began her career as a chocolatier at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando. She later moved to Houston, where she supervised the pastry shop of the River Oaks Country Club under the tutelage of Pastry World Champion Darrin Aoyama. After working as the pastry sous chef for Payard Patisserie in Las Vegas, Root took on the challenge of the 2008 World Culinary Olympics, earning three gold medals. Root worked as pastry chef de partie at Thomas Keller’s Per Se. She then moved back west and took the position of pastry chef at the Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park, California.

COFFEE COURSE

The Oakland Fence Project is a large-scale interactive photography exhibit & website designed to unite and activate Oakland; each image comes to life through an augmented reality app that triggers video stories, music & embedded data, enabling real and virtual audiences anywhere to create, volunteer, buy, learn and connect.

Wendy is a Senior Consultant with the Sundance Institute, and the Director of New Arts Axis. She has served as an advisor for many NGOs, social entrepreneurs and independent artists around the world. In 2014, Wendy led the Sundance Film Festival's Skoll Stories of Change program and Skoll World Forum and was invited to participate in the White House Data Innovation Workshop on Climate Change.

Master Barista for Trieste, illycaffè. With barista training dating to his teens, he’s one of the world's foremost coffee experts. Milos is a multiple award winner including the Italian Barista Championship.